The devastated teenager, from Oregon, quickly realised she would have to shave every day to keep the stubble at bay. But after years of shaving, plucking and expensive laser removal procedures, Rose has now decided to accept her whiskers – and couldn’t be happier.

She said:

“Growing my beard has made me more confident.I feel pretty with my beard, and I never felt pretty before. It feels amazing being me.”

Rose first noticed hairs sprout in her sideburns when she reached puberty.Soon hairs began appearing on her chin, upper lip and cheeks and Rose would have to wake at the crack of dawn to remove the evidence.Rose said

“I don’t think my parents knew how to support me when they found out about my shaving.
“My mum and I had a brief conversation about needing to stop shaving but of course I knew by then I couldn’t. I knew I would never be able to stop.
“My mum was supportive enough and took me to see a doctor and I was placed on birth control pills and other medication but it wasn’t really effective.”

And in order to have relationships with men Rose had to overcome the hurdle of showing her body hair to her partners.
She said:

“Revealing my body hair in any relationship was of course very scary and difficult and I was lucky enough and had some understanding partners in my early twenties.
“It was more of an issue for me just being self conscious and worrying about revealing myself and facing rejection.”

But after six weeks Rose sported a full beard and had grown to love it. And her friends and family were fans too.

She said:

“All of my friends and family are incredibly supportive – they really had no idea how much I struggled and how much it was affecting me.
“People on the street do look at me and do a double take, but their reactions are either positive or neutral.
“I have had people approach me in public and wanted to meet me and shake my hand and tell me I’m brave and courageous and even an inspiration.”

But the strongest reaction is online, where Rose’s Instagram account has found hundreds of admirers.

Rose said:

“Some of them get a little carried away, marriage proposals, offering plane tickets to come visit, inappropriate pictures you name it.”

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